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Vocational Awards
Vocational Awards are designed to give you a broad introduction to a particular career area, for example travel and tourism, health and social care. They provide experience and education relevant to working life but
do not provide training for a specific job. Courses are modular and are built up unit by unit. The BTECs, OCR Nationals and the new Diplomas are all popular vocational awards.
BTECs
It is easy to get the levels of these qualifications confused. A BTEC First is on a par with GCSEs whereas a BTEC National involves study at a level simliar to AS/A2 Levels.
A BTEC National Diploma = 3 A2 Levels
A BTEC National Certificate = 2 A2 Levels
A BTEC First Diploma = 4-5 GCSEs
Most vocational qualifications are assessed through a portfolio of evidence and external tests. This means you have to do a fair amount of paperwork since you need to keep evidence of what you have learned in a log
book or portfolio.
For further information on the BTEC First awards, click here.
For further information on the BTEC National awards, click here.
For further information on the BTEC Introductory awards, click here.
For further information on the BTEC Entry awards, click here.
The New Diplomas
To download an introduction to the New Diploma for students, please click here
To download an introduction to the New Diploma for parents, please click here
There are three levels of Diploma - Foundation, Higher and Advanced. You can choose to do an A level as part of your Diploma and you can take extra A levels alongside it.
A Foundation Diploma = 5 GCSEs grade D-G
A Higher Diploma = 7 GCSEs grade A*-C
An Advanced Diploma = 3.5 A levels
For more information on the Business, Administration and Finance Diploma, click here.
For more information on the Creative and Media Diploma, click here.
For more information on the Society, Health and Development Diploma, click here.
For more information on the Information Technology Diploma, click here.
For more information on the Hair and Beauty Diploma, click here.
For more information on the Hospitality Diploma, click here.
There are four other Diploma courses - Construction and the Built Environment, Engineering, Environmental and Land-Based Studies, Manufacturing and Product Design. For further information about these courses visit Direct.gov.uk